Should Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho part ways?

Tough times for the Special One?

Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one- Jose Mourinho

Love him or Hate him, the ‘Special One’ arguably is one of the best tacticians football has ever seen. The man’s quotes were so famous, he made viewers all over the world watch the pre-match and post match reactions just so that they could hear him say something unforgettable. At one point of time, off pitch antics were making bigger headlines than on pitch ones. However, as the years went by, his relationship with the media and the fans started getting worse and worse. Which is why we contemplate Mourinho leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.

In the early years, arrogance is ignored to awe at sheer talent. But over the years, fans prefer players and managers who are friendlier and honest to them and their work. That’s why a section of people hate the entertaining and brilliant Mourinho.

Mourinho had success written all over him when he came to Chelsea. When he did, he brought along with him his players from Porto to play a similar style. Chelsea was a success overnight with Roman’s investment and Mourinho’s hard work. But when Mourinho left, one of the reasons for leaving was his arrogance which didn’t go down well with the owner. But the aftermath that Chelsea suffered was unexpected. The players were moulded to play in a style Mourinho’s was famous for today. Chelsea coudn’t win anything other than a FA Cup until Carlo Ancelloti came into the picture. Chelsea seem to have come out of this style of playing only recently with the help of a massive squad change and a radical tactical revolution from AVB.

When Jose was at Inter Milan, he managed to revive the form of even the vintage players. Lucio, Walter Samuel were the best pair of centre-back around while Diego Milito was a goalscoring sensation. Christian Chivu and Miacon were Mourinho’s prized possessions. But then again, when Mourinho left, the form of all the players suddenly shattered. Milito could notch up just a handful of goals while Maicon became a flop overnight.

Today, Real Madrid is going through a similar revolution. Ozil, Ronaldo and Benzema have been utilized optimally and it looks like Jose would reach greater heights with such a team. But cracks have started emerging to what seems,sooner or later an inevitable bitter end to this journey.

The main problem with Mourinho had been that he has failed to understand the sentiments of Real Madrid. Porto was never a part of the elite class before Mourinho arrived. Chelsea could not match the likes of Manchester Utd and Arsenal before the Russian renaissance. Inter on the other hand had a respectful history. But at the time Mourinho took over, its superiority was drastically elevated due to the downgrading of AC Milan, Florentina, Lazio and Juventus. At all these teams, Mourinho could start from scratch and revolutionize them in a way that the teams would benchmark standards to this era whenever they have bad results. And Mourinho has been successful in doing this because today, comparisons have been made whenever Chelsea and Inter have bad results going for them.

But Real Madrid always had a share of history, a glorious one too. The benchmarks had already been set by Zidane, Raul, Beckham, Figo, Ronaldo and many other Los Blancos in their elite history. Real Madrid’s success is determined not only at winning the Champions League but defeating their arch rivals Barcelona at every meeting. Attacking football is something Madrid had always been famous for and no compromises were ever done with that.Mourinho had never played with such benchmarks and expectations before. But he was still ready for the challenge, provided he gets to play the game in his own way. Mourinho played his typical negative tactics, which usually helped him grind out the results. The Ex-Galacticos were furious with the style of play and the overall approach to the game. The fans were whistling at him even when he won the game with relative ease. Now a spat with Ramos and Iker Casillas is making matters worse.

“This isn’t a problem for me, it didn’t happen when I was at Porto, Chelsea or Inter (Milan) but there is always a first time,” said Mourinho on a large section of fans whistling at him.

No Laughing matter for Ramos

Real Madrid is now in a very difficult position. Mourinho has not been able to form his ‘untouchables’ from his massive and talented team as they haven’t been able to produce the form consistently. Mourinho has brought back a winning mentality into the team, but hasn’t been able to win significant silverware. Mourinho was brought into Madrid because of the fabulous record against Barcelona. But now hasn’t been able to win any of the 4 meetings with Barcelona this season which has brought only disappointment to the fans. Somehow Madrid have a feeling that tolerating the arrogance and culture shock in terms of playing styles may just not be worth it.

I am prepared. The more pressure there is, the stronger I am. In Portugal, we say the bigger the ship, the stronger the storm. -Jose Mourinho

Madrid are aware that if Mourinho chose to leave, he would take some players with him. Most of the squad have recently joined Madrid and their loyalties could come into question if lured by Mourinho. But on the bright side,attack oriented players such as Ramos, Coentrao and Marcelo will benefit by not playing in such negative tactics. Madrid vs Barcelona has always been Attack vs. Attack, with the game tilting from one side to the other. For Madrid,winning alone doesn’t matter, its how you win it.

Real Madrid know there won’t be any manager more able than Mourinho who could take them to Champions League glory. However, Real Madrid would not want to compromise on its values and its style, the fans and players know it for. It depends how long it would want to shy away from the criticism until Mourinho wins the Champions League. But if he doesn’t, most probably we would see another fit of arrogance for the headlines to state: Left by Mutual Consent.